WOMEN
Women’s Football finally played in Somalia
The world Football governing body, FIFA has welcomed the move by Somalia to finally start engaging with women’s Football.
On March 8th, 2024 women’s football was finally played in the capital Mogadishu to commemorate International Women’s Day with Futsal match.
SWF women’s football team, defeated their rivals of SSC by 3-1 in the maiden women’s futsal match, which fully broke the barriers that once prevented Somali women from playing football.
Gelson Vernandes, the FIFA director for member associations Africa welcomed that Somali women are now officially playing football.
“We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to the Somali Football Federation for the activities organized, particularly to mark International Women’s Day. It is admirable to see such openness and to allow women to play and enjoy this sport. This initiative demonstrates a strong desire to promote gender equality and inclusion in football,” said Vernandes.
President of the Somali Football Federation (SFF), Ali Abdi Mohamed also praised the Women’s committee in the Federation of organizing the match to ensure women’s football officially starts in Somalia.
“I am really overjoyed that my long-standing dreams have become true. The futsal match was the start of a series of activities for the girls and young women who have been well involved in training programs for the past several months. Our aim is to see Somali women being fully active in the international football calendar very soon, added the President.
Ibtisam Yassin, the SFF head of Women’s football also said they are pleased that the department was able to organize a futsal match after several months of trainings and awareness workshops for both parents and girls.
“Our efforts paid off and we will continue organizing the awareness workshops for parents and girls plus the training programs, as this strategy has yielded positive results,” she added.
The head of Communication in SFF, Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar pointed out that having women’s football start in Somalia is a real sig of removal of cultural barriers.
“In Somalia, women have never played official football due to cultural barriers, as Somali parents never allowed their daughters to play football, because Somali parents recognized women’s football “the worst shame” and crime against Somali culture and religion, but after months of awareness workshops some parents have allowed their daughters to play the game,” added Abokar.
He also made it clear that now the awareness workshops are part of the SFF strategy to develop women’s football and overcome the cultural barriers that once prevented Somali women getting the opportunity to play the game.
Kenya Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba has praised her team for the good show in their big 5-0 win against hosts Morocco in an international friendly match played on Tuesday.
“I am very happy that after drawing 2-2 in the first match, we managed to re-organise and win 5-0 in the second match,” said a happy Odemba.
Fasila Adhiambo gave Kenya the lead at the Mohammed VI Football Complex after 16 minutes, and Adam Mwanalima made it 2-0 ten minutes later.
The home side tried to get back in the game, but the Kenya Starlets team defended well. Mwanalima netted her second, while Violet Nanjala and Elizabeth Mideva also got their names on the score sheet.
Odemba said that playing such international friendly matches help them build the team and give different players the opportunity to play. “We hope to play many more International friendly matches and also participate in some tournaments which will help us get better,” added the coach.
In October this year the Kenya Starlets played in the 4-Nations Pink Ladies Cup in Turkey.
Hosts Algeria have defeated Uganda Crested Cranes 2-1 in an international friendly match played at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium on Wednesday night.
Taleb Muller Lura gave the hosts the lead after only 14 minutes after a defensive lapse for the Cranes Cranes.
But the Crested Cranes fought back strongly and created several scoring opportunities before the interval.
After recess Joan Nabirye leveled matters after 61 minutes for Uganda Crested Cranes. The hosts intensified their search for another goal and restored their lead 8 minutes later through Abdou Lea.
Uganda Crested Cranes head Coach Sheryl Ulanda Botes will return to the drawing board before the team returns to face the same Algerian team on November 30th in a second International friendly match.
Last month the Uganda Crested Cranes defeated hosts DR Congo in two international friendly matches 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.
CECAFA representatives Tanzania will face defending champions South Africa at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2024.
The Tanzania team, Twiga Stars are placed in Group C alongside South Africa, Ghana and Mali during the draw conducted on Friday night at the Mohammed VI Technical Centre in Sale, Morocco.
Dr. Patrice Motsepe, the CAF President also attended the ceremony. The draw was conducted by Samson Adamu, the Director of Tournament and Events at CAF.
The other members who assisted with the draw include; Andile Dlamini, a key member of South Africa’s victorious 2022 WAFCON squad, Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda), a who made made history as the first female official to referee a men’s FIFA World Cup match during Qatar 2022, and Fatiha Laassiri (Morocco), a former Moroccan international and a celebrated figure in women’s football.
The WAFCON 2024 to feature 12 teams will take place in the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Casablanca from July 5-26th, 2025. Tanzania who qualified after seeing off Ivory Coast and Togo will be returning to the WAFCON after 14 years since their last appearance in 2010.
South Africa, the reigning champions, are among the teams to watch in this 13th edition of the tournament.
Group A: Morocco, Zambia, Senegal, DR Congo
Group B: Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Botswana
Group C: South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania
CAF Women's Champions League
We picked great lessons in CAF Women’s Champions League – Coach Birhanu
The head coach of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) women’s team has said that despite falling out at the group stage, they picked great lessons playing at the CAF Women’s Champions League.
CBE, the CECAFA Women’s Champions League reigning champions lost all their three group matches at the tournament on-going in Morocco.
They opened with a 3-0 defeat to Edo Queens (Nigeria), and suffered a 4-0 defeat to South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns. In the last group match played last Saturday, CBE lost 2-1 to FC Masar (Egypt) with Senaf Wakuma scoring their only goal of the tournament.
Heye Gizaw Birhanu, the CBE coach has made it clear that there are several lessons that his players and even the technical bench take back home. “We were playing in the CAF Women’s Championship League final tournament for the first time and several things were new to us. Playing against top sides in Africa has been a great eye opener for us and we are not the same now,” said Birhanu.
The coach made it clear that with the lessons they have picked from the tournament they will come back a better and improved side.
-
CECAFA10 years agoBotswana beats Kenya in African Youth Championships
-
Top stories5 years agoWe need to win the first match against Coronavirus – Infantino
-
CECAFA5 years agoCecafa mourns former chairman Tesfaye Ghebreyesus
-
NEWS3 years agoFIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers: Eritrea ejects Djibouti 6-1 on aggregate
-
CECAFA U-18 Boys Championship1 year agoSemi-final stage set for CECAFA U-18 Championship 2023
-
CAF5 years agoCAF approves dates for 2020 Total African Nations Championship in Cameroon
-
NEWS3 years agoYoung Africans SC face Nyasa Big Bullets in CECAFA Kagame Cup kick-off
-
CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup5 months agoHay Al Wadi, Al Hilal qualify for knock out stage of CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup